Kitchens of Distinction
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Kitchens of Distinction |
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| Kitchens of Distinction | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin | South London, England  |
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| Genre(s) | Shoegaze, Alternative rock, Britpop | |
| Years active | 1986 to 1996 | |
| Label(s) | One
Little Indian (U.K./Europe) |
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| Members | ||
| Patrick
Fitzgerald Julian Swales Dan Goodwin |
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Kitchens of Distinction (often shortened colloquially to KOD) were a three-person alternative rock band from South London, England, active from 1986 to 1996.
Contents
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Dan Goodwin met Julian Swales at college in 1980, and Swales
met Patrick Fitzgerald at a party circa 1985. The
band formed in 1986. Their name was taken from an advertisement for a
home decor/sink company of the same name, spotted by Swales on the side
of a bus while riding his bike. Medical doctor Patrick Fitzgerald put
his career on hold to be the band's lead singer/bassist. Kitchens'
first single, recorded in just one day on an eight track in a Kennington
basement,
earned single of the week in NME, and the following
singles "Prize" and "The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule," released on
Fitzgerald's impassioned, wordy, often bluntly-personal vocals careened over what sounded like a mass of swirling guitars, though the band only had one guitarist. KOD's catchy yet abstract sound made them peripherally part of the shoegazing and Britpop scenes. Swales' chiming, effects pedal-laden style of playing drew him comparisons to the guitarists of The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, U2, and A R Kane.
Despite the promising start, the band faced a subdued reception from the music industry, perhaps due to their lyrical content; "Margaret's Injection," on the 1989 Elephantine EP, was a fantasy about killing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Even the more indie focused television programs like SnubTV and Rapido refused to give them any coverage, although it should be noted that SnubTV played the video for single "Drive That Fast." Likewise, John Peel refused the band a BBC session for many years, though they eventually did one.
1991 album Strange Free World spawned some moderately-successful singles. 1992 album The Death Of Cool was named in honor of the passing of Miles Davis, who had released an influential album titled Birth of the Cool in the 1950s. One Little Indian brought in Pascal Gabriel to put a commercial spin on the lead tracks on final album Cowboys And Aliens, but it failed to garner them any mainstream hits.
Kitchens of Distinction disbanded in the summer of 1996 after a farewell gig at London's Kings Cross, despite the fact that new single "Feel My Genie" had been named Melody Maker's Single Of The Week. Fitzgerald continued to record as Fruit, Lost Girls, and Stephen Hero. Despite rumours of a collaboration with Terry Bickers (of The House of Love/ Levitation), Swales moved into writing scores for film, theatre, and dance.
KOD sometimes performed "secret" gigs under the alter ego "Toilets Of Destruction." An example was at the Bull And Gate Pop Club in Kentish Town on August 6, 1990, where the band appeared in drag and played ABBA, Bowie and Bauhaus covers. (Kitchens of Distinction covered the song White Horses on a free cassette given away with a UK music paper, guitarist Julian sang the lead vocal). Bands whose sound has been influenced by the Kitchens include Interpol, The Verve, Mansun, Longpigs, and Springhouse.
"The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule" made it on the NME Writers' 100 Best Indie Singles Ever list, published July 25, 1992.
Albums
Best-of compilation
Singles, EPs
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
| 1991 | "Drive That Fast" | #12 | Strange Free World |
| 1991 | "Quick As Rainbows" | #18 | Strange Free World |
| 1992 | "Smiling" | The Death Of Cool | |
| 1992 | "4 Men" | #28 | The Death Of Cool |
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